A few short years ago tailored shorts for men were bang-on-trend; we were moving firmly away from the 1990s and a refined cut of short promised a comfy, distinguished, yet wholly less casual look. They didn’t make it big everywhere, a bugger to find in Australia I ventured off to Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge for my navy pair from Paul Smith and they’ve worn beautifully. But for the gent wanting an updated look for their Spring/Summer 2009 wardrobe where to from here?

Tailored shorts certainly aren’t out; they’re yet to reach their peak in fact particularly when you consider the slow take-up of short suits by men. But if you’re looking for something a little less straight, and something that shows some flair how about the above to pair of shorts?

Some will say the pair on the left takes its inspiration from the women’s ‘harem pants’ fashion trend. While the pair certainly has a ‘British man in the East’ feel to them, Unconditional’s Drop Crotch Pleated Short are most likely going to end up in a street infused wardrobe and worn with a bevy other black pieces.

The stand out pair for the season seems to be the Unconditional’s Wrap Shorts in cotton twill (pictured above, right). Cuffed and breaking above the knee they are decidedly fashion forwards, but the wrap front gives them a casual edge that doesn’t come across as evoking the ‘harem’ trend as strongly as the drop crotch pair.

The key to these two pairs of shorts, apart from their cotton/metallic blend, is that they both obey the modern rules of men’s shorts or, rather, they don’t transgress into the realm of things to avoid.